Sharawadji Effect

The Sharawadji Effect, not to be confused with Sharawadgi, is a musical phenomena described by Claude Shryer as "a sensation of plenitude sometimes created by the contemplation of a complex soundscape whose beauty is inexplicable."[1] It is important to note that Sharawadji is not a stimulus, but rather a reaction to a stimulus. Shryer also elaborated on searching for this "state of awareness" by the means of "one tend[ing] an open ear in the hopes of experiencing the sublime beauty of a given sound in an unexpected context.”[2] The experience of the Sharawadji sonic effect is often heavily dictated by personal context as well as the perception of the listener. One striking example of this effect is the appreciation of the sound of rumbling thunder: those who are being directly exposed to the element would be more likely to fear it compared to those who experience the sound while in a safe environment. Simply understood, “sharawadji sounds belong to everyday life, to a known musical style. They become sharawadji only through decontextualization, through a rupture of meaning.”[3]

Origin

Seventeenth-century European travelers originally coined the term as an aesthetic effect that “comes about as a surprise and will carry you elsewhere, beyond strict representation — out of context.” The term Sharawadji was speculated to originate from China and was understood as "the beauty that occurs with no discernible order or arrangement".[4]

References

  1. ↑ Waterman, Ellen and Harley, James. "Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound." Computer Music Journal 23.1 (1999): 79-82. Web.
  2. ↑ Ulvaeus, edited by David Rothenberg & Marta (2009). The Book of Music and Nature : an anthology of sounds, words, thoughts (Second edition. ed.). Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 125. ISBN 9780819569356.
  3. ↑ http://xenopraxis.net/readings/augoyard_sonicexperiencecomplete.pdf
  4. ↑ Augoyard, Jean François et al., eds. Sonic Experience: A Guide to Everyday Sounds. Montreal ; Ithaca: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2006. Print.
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